Pop's Shop - between projects

[Pop]

I thought since it was half clean, I'd share how I put 10 pounds of shop in a 5 pound building.



Front of shop. On the left not seen is a small square addition I put on to house the DC system and keep it out of the shop.



1940's vintage Sears/Dunlap metal lathe with thread cutting gear set-up.



1940's vintage Craftsman wood lathe. Note 3 gang wall plate on base. I used a washing machine motor with 3 speeds.



Handtool, rolling tool cabinets, TV, DVD, radio wall.



1950's vintage Sears drill press (my Fathers). I added the lift system for the table and a variable speed motor and controller.



Half of the wall with the roll-around power tools. Scroll saw, routertable, bandsaw, and project print folders.



Other half of roll-around wall showing DC plumbing and mortising drill. There's adust port at all the power tools along the outside walls, as-well-as above the wok bench.



Workbench waiting for the next project.


End of workbench showing Ryobi table saw with moving table instead of miter and slot. I really like this setup. I've since made a roll-around base for the table saw too.

[Glennbear]

Truly amazing Mike, thanks for sharing !!!

[Travis Porter]

Not a shop. Too clean. No sawdust.

Seriously, thanks for posting! I personally love to check out others gadgets, layouts, and space.

[newtowood]

Good looking shop. You certainly have a lot of tools neatly packed in there. You have it organized well.

[Mike Davis]

Very well organized and seems to be a good workflow.

Roughly what size building is that?

[FredP]

yur slippin there buddy. i think i saw some floor in one of those pics! small shops require organization. um... so do larger shops..... hmmmmm. organization..... interesting concept! looks like ya got a plan that wiorks. wanna come organize mine?

[toolferone]

It looks like you belong to Gators club. How to put an elephant in a bread box club. You did a nice job on yours!

[LeftyTom]

Well, I did see some floor in a few of the pics. With the plethora of tools, I thought there was nowhere to stand.

[JackLeg]

I like it!

Tell me more about that lift system for your drill press table. That's one that bugs me daily!

I have several old Craftsman tools that resemble your, although mine are circa 1938!

Nice shop!

[skeeter]

"I thought since it was half clean, I'd share how I put 10 pounds of shop in a 5 pound building."

We may need to reweigh the shop. I think there may be more than 10 pounds.
Great storage and organization!!

[Tar Heel]

Great use of space. I'm curious as to the size of your shop. I'm limited to 12 x 24 and at times it gets a little tight. I agree with toolferone about Gator's shop. He really maximizes the space available.

[JimmyC]

Nice crossover shop Mike, good for both metal and wood.

Jimmy

[Pop]

The building is only 14 x 20. The day it was delivered, my wife told me I should have gotten a bigger one. The problem here in Pa. is if I would have gone bigger, they would have had to deliver it in pieces and assemble it here. Pa. has a highway law that says anything more than 14 ft. wide needs a highway permit. I added the porch because the 'boss' said it couldn't lool like a shed. The big door was extra wide to allow Ethel to fit inside, although there's no longer any room for Ethel. It was at least big enough for a couple years until it was road-worthy. Buuilding it was also the reason for the metal lathe. I don't use it very often now. I really can't see a need for anything else I would need to do any woodwork I do. There's plenty of tools and room actually. I have roughly 6' of work space on either end of the bench and about 4' on either side. Placement of the tools helps to maximize their use. The roll around stuff is a big help too. The table with the mortising drill is a rool around in the event I have something like the snow blower engine I had to rebuild last year. I store the mortising drill and use the hoist in the rafters to lift the engine onto the table.

Since I have quite a few comments I'm considering making a set of working plans to give anyone who would like to make the lift system I made for the drill press. It was given to my Father in the 50's for a debt owed him by a buddy and I kept it for many reasons. The biggest drawback was how to raise and lower the work table. It has a hand operated wedge bolt to draw itself tightly to the post and aftre that many years it required a tap or two with a hammer to break it loose and then a wiggle to raise and lower. When my spine/neck started to really give me fits, I needed an easier way to make it work..i.e. the lift system. The main part is one of those cheap right angle drill adapters from Harbor Freight ($12). The table itself, with the 't' slots and wings was a project from ShopNotes and I had made that before the lift system. I'll do a drawing for the lift mechanism and e-mail it as a .pdf to anyone interested... just let me know. The ShopNotes article for the "Extension Drill Press Table" was in Volume 13 Issue 74 from Mar/Apr 2004.

[Pop]

I forgot to mention the speed control for the drill press. that's really neat! I used to be an electronic technician when I was still working. In stead of a wood shop my first house had an electronics shop nthe basement where I made gadgets and repaired video games (like those in arcades) as a hobby. I had a buddy who ran a Chucky Cheese inthe area so the video games were always breaking down and needed fixed.

Anyway... I thought I could make a variable speed control for my existing 110 v motor. I ran into problem after problem because I could get the variable speed part to work but usually at a loss of current to keep the motor turning at low rpm. I have a buddy that used to design motor controls for printing presses and thought I'd pick his brain. Next thing I know this box shows up with the controller you see to the right of the drill press. All I needed was a 2 hp 220 3/phase motor to add to it. The controller takes 110 volts single phase (normal house feed) and changes it to 220 3 phase! This doggone thing is programmable! I added the variable pot you see mounted on the table so I could vary the speed there instead of having to go to the controllers key pad. It will turn the drill press slow enough to tap metal threads and not loose torque! Then reverse at the touch of the screen. I never did ask the cost....